Help Me Help You

by Sam Fisher of Lucas Gambit

In a classic scene from what has now become a modern movie classic where Tom Cruise’s Jerry Maguire is trying to convince Cuba Gooding, Jr’s  Rod Tillman to play by the rules a little so that he can push for a contract extension.  Or as Cuba eloquently states- “you want me to dance?”.

Whenever I meet with a young, developing artist I’m reminded of this scene where the artist feels that they’ve “done enough” and should be rewarded for it.  Its always couched in the argument that “if only I had a shot, I could blow up”.  That is inevitably followed up with “I’ll do whatever it takes” or “I play at the local [insert restaurant bar name here] and people tell me all the time that they dont get why Im not HUGE yet”.

I’ll tell you why:

1. You’ve only written 20 songs your entire life and spend more time learning the latest pop covers than you do perfecting your craft
2. Your songs all sound the same. Are in the same key.  With the same melodic range. Unimaginative. Unchallenging.  About the same girl you keep hooking up/breaking up/falling in love with every month.
3. You can only play one instrument
4. It’s an acoustic guitar
5. You only know five chords
6. You spend any money  you do make from cd sales or cover gigs on…
   • beer
   • the aforementioned girl
   • beer
   • rent
   • beer
   • cigarettes
   • beer
7. You stink at networking This one is a non-starter for me.  If the only industry folks you know live in Snow Hill, NC (sorry Snow Hill) and haven’t done anything since George Bush, Sr’s administration, then you don’t want it bad enough
8. You care more about money than you do about growing as a songwriter, musician, performer See No. 1 above; it ain’t about being popular because you play some sorority girl’s favorite songs every Thursday night — it’s about writing amazing and compelling songs and then finding YOUR audience and writing songs until people are begging you to play YOUR music
9. You watch more TV/play more Xbox/hang with your boys more than you practice your stage show-yes I called it a stage show.  You want folks to PAY to see you?  Then act like it.  Put together a show that’s worth someone’s hard earned money and practice it until it’s Keith Urban or Lady Gaga perfect.  Then you perform that show with conviction and passion and determination.  Trust me.  They’ll pay for that.
10. You play eleventy billion cover gigs a week.  (see No. 8 and 9)  I know you’ve got to eat and pay your bills but you’re an artist.  Act like it.  Im sorry, but no matter how well you play Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” folks are only going to respect you (i.e. pay to see you play, buy your music, promote you, etc) if you wow them with YOUR music.  And why would anyone care that you’re playing tonight if they can see you do the same covers and the same bland, unimaginative songs (see No. 2 above) tomorrow night?
11. You’re on Facebook or Twitter eight hours a day promoting what you ate or what movie you just saw This is BIG deal nowadays.  Social media has created an entire generation of “the faux famous”-folks who think they’re famous because five people (and their mom) follow their every tweet or status update.   News flash:  using up every clever quip or quote you read on social media depletes you of the very lifeblood of great art-inspiration.  It really does ruin songcraft.  Get off Facebook and Twitter and read a poem or two.  (and no, don’t tweet some great line you read in the poem to show off how “hip” you are-WRITE A SONG)
12. You expect the label/manager/booking agent/publicist/radio program director to do it for you Another non-starter for me.  Let me tell you a little secret….come closer…the music business is a BUSINESS.  Why on earth would someone want to spend (read: waste) time on an artist that can’t sell out a living room, have 1000 cds sitting in his/her garage, only plays cover gigs in his/her local market, can’t get a write up in the school newspaper, and has only written 20 bland songs his/her entire career?!  Just being real here.  No label is gonna spend thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars on an artist that cant rub two dimes together from selling their music.  You want someone to pay attention?  Make them pay attention by creating your own buzz from writing great songs (you sensing a theme here) and performing them perfectly (yes there is a theme here) and making money (there it is!!).  A side note if I may:  What’s the deal with trying to get noticed so quickly anyway?  Its far better to get “found” AFTER you’ve honed your craft, learned to play 3-4 instruments, and can sell out a 300 seater in your hometown.  Take your time.  Stay under the radar.  Get good at what you do.  They will come.

So what’s the takeaway here?  In a nutshell, you’ve got to put in the work.  You’ve got to be able to earn money from your music on your own.  You’ve got to “dance”.  Rarely if ever, am I approached by an artist for help and they’re “ready”.  Wanna know why?  The ones who are “ready”, don’t NEED me.  As you gear up for the new year, resolve to do the following:

• write two-three new songs a week By the end of the year you will have 100-150 new songs.  Nuff said.
• learn two new instruments If you play guitar, learn piano and bass; get good enough to play all three live in front of an audience.  Is it piano?  Learn guitar (acoustic AND electric there IS a difference-trust me)  In other words…
• practice your “show” EVERY day
• fly under the radar Don’t promote yourself so much; there’s a reason you post five status updates telling your “fans” to come see you play live and NO ONE shows up;  it ain’t because they didnt check Facebook
• get a part time job to pay the bills Like it or not, you’re in the music business.  As a small business owner you need to pour any money earned from music back into the business so you can GROW your business.  Use your part time job to support you.  You know the saying…work your way out of a job.   Set aside cd sales for the next record, put merch sales in a bank account so you can buy more merch, money from those cover gigs should become your tour support so you can go play an original gig in Atlanta/Nashville/New York/LA.  Speaking of…
• NETWORK Get outta town more.  Reduce the amount of cover gigs you play by 20% and go to other markets.  Meet other talented songwriters and set up cowrites and shows.  Go play an open mic night in Atlanta or Nashville.  I dare you.  There are dudes WITH record deals playing those things.  Doing so will build your network and most importantly it will make you better.  While youre there, meet industry folks.  Try to build a network of insiders that you can check in with from time to time.  These folks are invaluable and will gladly guide you through the industry.

You do this and I guarantee you’ll see a difference.
Help ME help YOU!!!

About the Author:

Sam Fisher, Jr., a second-generation musician, has been making music since the mid-1990s including a stint as the frontman of independent powerhouse, Weekend Excursion, who over the course of nine years sold over 30,000 units while touring all over the world.

After the band disbanded, Sam released his critically acclaimed solo effort, People Living in 2006 on SBMG Records. In the years since, Sam has collaborated on several side projects (Caruso – contemporary blues, Mercury Blue – R&B and The Bristol Project – Trip Hop).

On September 21, 2010 Sam released his solo follow up: From Age to Age (cd) (mp3).

Sam is a voting member of the Recording Academy and staunch advocate for independent music, and he currently serves as worship leader and music director for Summit Church‘s North Durham Campus.